Talk:Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik
The picture seems to be of Suleiman the Magnificent, the 16th century Ottoman sultan.JudgeFisher (talk) 17:43, June 3, 2013 (UTC) :It's possible. Feel free to reupload if you'd like. Turtle Fan (talk) 02:00, June 4, 2013 (UTC) ::I went ahead and removed it. I seem to recall that when I pulled that picture, it was from a source that specified it was Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik, rather than Suleiman the Magnificent, but subsequent searching suggests that the picture is indeed of the Magnificent. TR (talk) 20:28, June 4, 2013 (UTC) ::::In an attempt to be less destructive and more constructive, I searched all over for a picture of Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik, but only found an artistic drawing of his brother''' 'Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik on an Arabic-only page. I'll keep digging. JudgeFisher (talk) 04:32, June 5, 2013 (UTC) Former picture is a famous portrait of Ottoman sultan Suleiman II, as talked above.Eljuma (talk) 16:47, October 30, 2016 (UTC) :It occurs to me that in the story itself, one of the disputes between the Muslim and Christian delegates was over illustrating or not their respective holy books with the Muslims saying it was forbidden. If Turtledove used actual doctrine from that time period, then its possible that there never was a portrait of Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik made. ML4E (talk) 17:57, October 30, 2016 (UTC) ::He probably did. Even now, I think there is still reticence about artistic renderings of living things generally. TR (talk) 19:29, October 30, 2016 (UTC) :::That doctrine was common in medieval Islam, and some versions of Islam today. There is no authentic portrait of, e.g., Saladin.JonathanMarkoff (talk) 09:13, October 31, 2016 (UTC) ::::Months later: I am reading ''The Crusades by Thomas Asbridge, who notes that there are no known descriptions of Saladin to survive to the present whatsoever, which is pretty impressive given how important Saladin was in his day. TR (talk) 18:49, March 20, 2017 (UTC) :::::That's odd that not even a description exists. You'd think there would be some chronicle somewhere that said something like "The troops were inspired by the sight of his tall, strong face, and his dark, pointed beard..."JonathanMarkoff (talk) 18:54, March 20, 2017 (UTC) ::::::You know, I've always wondered who was the next-most important historical figure with no surviving physical description after Jesus. We may have found an answer. Turtle Fan (talk) 18:44, March 25, 2017 (UTC) :::::::Don't forget Attila the Hun. Although that's not surprising as he was from a nearly illiterate society, so the bulk of info on him comes from his enemies. With Saladin it's harder to explain, as it's my understanding his Arabs were some of the more educated people of the 12th century.JonathanMarkoff (talk) 18:53, March 25, 2017 (UTC) Persian Monarch? Was he technically a Persian Monarch? Persia does seem to have been part of the Ummayyad Caliphate, but his Wikipedia doesn't list a separate Persian title. Was he a Persian Monarch only in the way that POTUS is the President of California?JonathanMarkoff (talk) 20:39, July 23, 2018 (UTC) :It would appear so. I've removed it. TR (talk) 21:08, July 23, 2018 (UTC)